by Layla Hagen
On the way, I called Mom. I checked in with her once a week to make sure everything was alright.
“Hi, Mom,” I greeted.
“Hey!”
“Do you have time? I have some news I want to share.”
“Of course.”
“You remember Josie, right?”
“She’s your best friend, Hunter. Of course, I remember her.”
“We’re getting married.”
A short pause followed, and then my eardrums exploded.
“Oh my God! What? When? You didn’t tell me anything. Is she pregnant? Since when have you two been dating? You’ve been lying every time I asked you when you’re planning to settle?”
I chuckled. “Mom, slow down. Breathe.”
“Okay. I’ll breathe. You talk.”
“We’ve known each other forever...”
I went on, telling her a version of what Josie and I had agreed on. Mom would have to travel all the way from London for the wedding.
“Three weeks? This is a shotgun wedding, isn’t it? You don’t have to pretend. I want grandkids anyway.”
Guilt twisted my insides. I was getting her hopes up, and three years down the road, I’d disappoint her.
“It’s not a shotgun wedding, Mom. I promise.”
“Have you told Amelia already?”
“No, you’re the first person I’ve told. We’ll tell everyone on Saturday.”
“Can’t wait to gossip with Amelia about it. Sometimes I think she forgets you’re not her son.”
I laughed, because Mom was spot-on. And Amelia’s second husband, Mick, was the closest I had to a father.
“I’m so happy for you, Hunter. So happy.”
“Thanks, Mom. Are you okay? Need anything?”
“I’m good. I’m about to get into a subway station though, don’t think I’ll have reception anymore. Talk to you later?”
“Sure.”
I’d been taking care of Mom for years. While in college, I worked odd jobs on the side, and fresh out of college, made big bucks working in management consultancy. After a few years, I’d had enough capital to start my own business, and attract further investors.
I sometimes wondered what would have happened if I’d moved back to England. But I hadn’t wanted to leave the States. I’d been at a good school and had managed to secure a scholarship, because I had good grades. My fellow classmates hadn’t let me forget about my new status. They’d also claimed I’d gotten it because Mom and the principal were friends. They’d nicknamed me “the stray.”
I’d learned to ignore them. I just wanted to graduate, get a scholarship to Columbia University, then buckle down to work. By the time Amelia started teaching at the school, the raucous comments were just background noise.
When Josie arrived three years later, they directed the comments at her, and I hadn’t wanted her to go through the same. I’d only meant to protect her at first, but somehow, she ended up being my friend.
Then again, Josie could be friends with anyone. She’d quickly become close with my cousins. Before I knew it, she was a regular at Amelia’s place.
The realization of it all was hitting me hard; I had some big problems. That I was about to break the law, for one. That I had to lie to everyone I cared about, for the other.
But right now, my biggest problem was that I couldn’t stop wanting Josie. I’d always noticed she was gorgeous, always been attracted to her. But I’d compartmentalized that easily enough. I’d made a clear distinction between Hunter the man and Hunter the friend.
Those walls had completely shattered when I’d kissed her. The way she’d responded... fuck. I almost got hard just thinking about it. She’d opened up without a second’s hesitation. But I knew the moment I’d tasted the cocktail on her lips that the only reason for that had been the alcohol.
I repeated that mantra, but it was no use. The second Josie opened the door, I could practically taste her on my lips. I drank in the curve of her waist, the way her dark hair bounced just above her breasts. It was as if that one kiss had opened the floodgates.
“Hey!”
She smiled brilliantly at me, then looked over her shoulder toward her living room.
“Kendra’s already here. That’s a nice surprise.”
I was very pleased with myself when Kendra greeted me. I’d personally called before and talked to her. I had a little surprise in store for Josie.
The vendor winked at me when Josie wasn’t looking and said, “Shall I begin taking out the selection?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Right away. Congratulations, by the way.”
I laced an arm around Josie’s shoulders, pulling her closer. She smiled shyly. My heartbeat intensified. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction when she saw the selection.
Kendra turned to the metal case next to her, opened it, and pulled out a tray with forty rings.
I studied Josie’s face closely as she perused the rows, and knew the exact moment she found the sapphire, because she didn’t look away from it.
“Shall I take that one out for you?” Kendra asked excitedly. Then, as if deciding there wasn’t any reason to continue keeping the secret, added, “Your fiancé called before and asked if I had it in the store and to include it in the selection. I thought that was so romantic.”
Josie looked up in surprise.
“Kendra, can you excuse us for a moment?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Josie and I went into her small bedroom. Once Kendra was out of earshot, Josie asked, “How did you know about the ring?”
“I asked Tess.”
“That’s sweet,” she murmured.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just that... I want that ring when I get engaged for real.”
I hadn’t thought about that. And what was it with the knot in my stomach? I nodded tightly.
“Do you think Tess will catch on if we show up with another ring?” she whispered.
“No, I’ll just tell her I messed up and had the wrong ring brought up or something.”
“I’ll just say I changed my mind. Which one do you want to buy?”
I shrugged. “Whichever you want. Doesn’t matter to me. Something you see yourself wearing for some time.” I forced myself to sound detached, like it was all the same to me. When we returned to the living room, Josie glanced at the rings again, and ended up picking one with a round, modest diamond.
Kendra didn’t seem all too surprised that Josie had chosen another ring.
“Don’t sweat it. We women sometimes change our minds,” she said.
I just nodded curtly. What could I say? Josie hadn’t changed her mind. She still wanted the sapphire ring and a future. She just didn’t want that future with me.
I’d known all that, I had no idea why I was feeling so off-kilter. Because I’d wanted to do something nice for her, and it had completely backfired. That was the reason. The only reason.
As Kendra packed up the tray and Josie put the ring on her finger, I wondered if we shouldn’t act more like a couple.
No, this was just fine. We didn’t have to put on a show twenty-four seven. That would get tiring fast. Even real couples weren’t all over each other all the time. Buying the ring was probably one of those moments that did involve emotions though, judging by the disconcerted look Kendra gave us.
But I sensed that Josie needed some space, and I wanted to give it to her.
For the first time, it occurred to me just how much I was asking of her. I’d never given marriage any thought, mostly because I didn’t think anything could last. My own parents’ marriage crumbled when the financial problems started.
But Josie was more optimistic than I was. This was harder for her, going through the motions while possibly comparing it to what she’d imagined.
She was silent after Kendra left. I wanted to leave her with her thoughts but gave up after exactly twelve minutes.
“Let’s call this off. It’s not too
late,” I said.
Josie blinked up at me. “What? Why?”
“Because this is obviously going to be much harder than I anticipated. For you, I mean.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. Just... I imagined the day I was getting my engagement ring to be different.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Hunter. You’ve done so much for me. This is the least I can do.”
I stepped closer, tilting her head up.
“Josie. Look at me. I don’t want you to go through with this out of some skewed sense of obligation.”
“Right.”
“I don’t want you to feel like you owe me, because you don’t.”
“That’s a lot of don’ts.”
“There’s a lot more where that came from.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“I’m discovering a new side to you. Not sure how much I like it.”
“Judging by your shit-eating grin, you love it.”
She tried to rein in her grin—and failed.
Chapter Six
Josie
On Saturday, I was a basket case as I paced my apartment, waiting for Hunter to pick me up. We’d decided this was the best tactic. It would be natural for us to arrive together. Hunter had suggested we wait until after dinner to break the news, so we wouldn’t spend the entire meal answering questions. I countered by saying that I couldn’t hide the ring until dessert. He’d agreed with me in the end.
I startled when the doorbell rang and hurried to open the door. I twirled once, showing off the light green dress.
“What do you think? Worthy of an engagement announcement? Does it say ‘I’ve secretly been in love with Hunter my entire life’?”
I’d spun with so much enthusiasm that I got a little dizzy, swaying when I stopped. Hunter’s arm was on my waist the next second. Strong. Warm. Steady.
I laughed at myself as I looked up. “So? What do you think?”
“You’re sexy.”
My eyes widened. “It’s inappropriate?”
“No. It’s just perfect.”
I became aware of just how possessive that arm was on my waist. That his other hand was on my shoulder. The skin-on-skin contact singed me. I wiggled out, smoothing my dress.
“Let’s go. Can’t wait to show off my ring. I did some research. Apparently, scorned wives can turn engagement rings into something else. A pendant, or earrings. I’ll turn this into something beautiful after you’re going to break my heart.”
“Maybe you’ll break mine.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re the heartbreaker. I’m just me.”
“You’re fucking beautiful.”
“I already said yes. You don’t have to butter me up.”
He touched my chin, his thumb resting almost at the corner of my mouth.
“You are beautiful, Josie. If I haven’t said it before, it was only because I was afraid you’d think I was coming onto you.”
“And now you’re not afraid anymore?”
He smiled. “No, I’m not, fiancée. So you’d better get used to it.”
I felt slightly off-balance. Was he flirting? Was he joking? My heart was beating insanely fast as I looked straight at him, trying to gauge his true intentions. I ended up averting my gaze, afraid he’d be able to tell what I was thinking. It was difficult not to get wrapped up in his charm when he was so focused on me.
We took a cab to Amelia’s but got out a few blocks away, deciding to walk for a few minutes and make our game plan.
“I told Mom,” he said. “She was... psyched. I’m guessing Amelia will be too.”
“Hunter, sorry to rain on your parade, but all the girls will be psyched.”
He sighed. “True.”
“I think our best bet is to divide and conquer.”
“Elaborate.”
“We try to talk to everyone separately, or at least in small groups. If everyone bombards us with questions at the same time, we’re more likely to slip up and make a mistake.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right.”
“The guys are probably just going to roll their eyes and leave you alone.”
“If they don’t, I’ll hand them their asses.”
“Yeah, but that means you have to save me from the girls, okay?”
“I’ll do my best. Oh, and take two weeks off after the wedding.”
“Why?”
“We’ll have plenty of stuff to deal with,” he said.
“Okay...” I wasn’t really sure what he meant, but I trusted his gut feeling.
Hunter took my hand as we walked toward Amelia’s door. Sweat dotted my palms. He must have sensed my distress, because he squeezed it reassuringly. Neither of us said it out loud, but after tonight, there was no going back.
Amelia opened the door, kissing both our cheeks. Then she noticed our interlinked hands.
“Oh my God,” she said with a smile.
“Josie and I have news. Let’s join the others.” Hunter brought his hand around my shoulders as we headed to the living room.
Five minutes later, everyone present was pouncing on us.
Amelia pulled me into a heartfelt hug.
“I’ve always known you two would eventually see what was right in front of you. You’ll make my boy so happy.”
I felt so guilty that I nearly confessed everything on the spot. I looked around for Hunter, wondering if there was a way to talk to him alone. Surely, we could tell Amelia? She wouldn’t tell anyone. It wasn’t fair to lie to her. I couldn’t bear imagining the look of disappointment on her face when we’d “divorce” a few years down the road. She’d be crushed, especially since she went through a divorce herself. I couldn’t even imagine being a mom of four and my husband just announcing he was leaving me for another woman.
When I’d met the Winchester family, they were still dealing in their own way with their father leaving, but they’d had one thing in common: they were all very protective of Amelia. She always joked that she’d had a household full of rebels before the divorce, and afterward, they always took turns being up to no good, as if they’d known she was too overwhelmed by life to deal with all of them at the same time.
Amelia was one of the people I loved and respected most. I couldn’t lie to her. But I was almost certain the immigration services would question Amelia about Hunter if they even had the slightest suspicion. No, I had to soldier on with this. I wouldn’t put Amelia in danger just because I couldn’t deal with a guilty conscience.
“When is the wedding?” Ryker asked, sipping his whiskey.
“In three weeks,” I answered.
Ryker nearly choked on his drink.
“What?” Tess exclaimed. “Are you pregnant?”
“No,” Hunter and I answered at the same time. He kissed my hand, adding, “I’ve loved Josie for most of my life. She’s the one. She’s always been the one. Why wait?”
Had we agreed to this? It wasn’t exactly what we’d rehearsed, was it? It sounded so real, and my heart felt about to explode. For the second time, I was too wrapped up in Hunter to realize his next move. My knees weakened the moment our lips touched. This kiss was even hotter than the first one, and the entire family was watching. What was he thinking?
“Ohoho. We get it, lovebirds,” Cole said. Ryker whistled when we broke apart.
Ryker and Cole had a similar build—both were over six foot two. Both had deep blue eyes, but Ryker had dark blond hair while Cole’s was jet-black. Somehow that gave him a (completely unearned) gentlemanly air, while Ryker often looked as if he belonged on a concert stage rather than on Wall Street. He did play the guitar in local bars after work sometimes, when he unleashed all that bad boy charm.
All of our plans to tackle the family one member at a time went down fast. Skye and Tess were cornering me. To my astonishment, the guys were cornering Hunter. At least, that’s what I thought they were doing. They were at the opposit
e end of the room, but Hunter looked pretty surrounded to me. I’d have felt sorry for him if I wasn’t so desperate myself.
Amelia and Mick were chatting, occasionally glancing at me or Hunter.
“We need to throw you an epic bachelorette party,” Tess said. She and Skye exchanged conspiratorial glances.
Skye clapped her hands. “Yup. Alcohol will flow. We need to lure out every single detail. When did you first start having the hots for Hunter? Why didn’t you tell us? How long has this been going on?”
Shit, shit, shit. I was certain I could survive an interview with the immigration services and lie through my teeth. But I wasn’t sure I could survive Tess and Skye, especially if there was alcohol involved. I’d never been able to lie to them. And they looked at me as if they were expecting answers right now. I didn’t have any.
I glanced in Hunter’s direction and blew out a relieved breath when I caught his eye. I hoped my expression conveyed just how desperate I was.
It must have, because Hunter stalked toward us. I got up from the couch where I was sitting with the girls, and he walked right into my personal space, placing an arm around my shoulders.
“Hey! Stop accosting my future wife.”
I shuddered. It was the first time he’d said wife.
“But she won’t tell us anything.” Tess pouted.
“Maybe it’s a sign you should stop asking.”
Tess grinned. “Or a sign that I have to dig deeper.”
Skye elbowed her. “Let them keep their secrets for now. We have all the time in the world to question her during the bachelorette party.”
“When are we going dress shopping?” Tess asked.
“I don’t want a white dress.”
I realized this was a mistake the second the words were out of my mouth. Because guess who knew that I’d dreamed about a white dress forever? Tess.
She might have bought my change of heart about the ring, but she’d never believe I didn’t want a white dress.
“You’re kidding, right?” Tess asked incredulously. “You’ve always wanted a white dress. Remember that time we went shopping for bridesmaid dresses for Mom’s wedding and you tried one on for fun?”